Tiger Woods Controversial Masters Drop

Golf is a beautiful game. It is played all around the world and by all sorts of people.  Golf also has some of the greatest events of all sports history. The greatest tournament in the history of golf just concluded Saturday and that is the Masters. Stakes are always high at the Masters and the finish is always close. The course is always one of the toughest courses on tour and if you combine that with the will to win of everyone in the tournament, you better bring your ‘A’ game or Augusta will eat you alive. Tiger Woods was the favorite coming into the tournament this week. He was coming off a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and was playing some of the hottest golf of his career. Tiger had struck misfortune, something you do not want to do at the Masters. Tiger was at the fifteenth hole in the second round of play on Friday at Augusta. Tiger had a short chip over the water hazard to go up and down for his birdie. This is when the misfortune strikes. Tiger strikes the ball perfectly; the ball takes one hop on the green, hits the flagstick, and shoots straight back into the hazard. Tiger has to take a drop and ended up hitting on the green and making a bogey. This was very upsetting to Tiger and ended up finishing the day at -2 for the tournament. Throughout the night, analysts were reviewing Tiger’s drop at the fifteenth hole. According to the rules of golf, you have a few options when u hit into the yellow marked hazard. Option one; you can drop in the marked drop zone. Option two; you may go where the ball first entered the hazard ad as far back, no closer to the hole, as you like. Option three; drop as close as possible to the spot where you played the shot that went into the hazard. Tiger chose the option to drop nearest to where he played his first shot. The drop looked fine until after his round that day, Tiger admitted to dropping farther away from where he originally played the ball and that there was a violation. Therefore, Tiger would have signed an incorrect scorecard at the end of his round disqualifying him from the Masters tournament. However, there is a rule that can waive disqualification if there is an error that players made that they were unaware of, which is Tiger’s case. The debate was if Tiger should have taken the disqualification and withdrawn from the Masters for the sake of sportsmanship. I believe he made the right decision and played because if there is a rule then he should be able to have that option it would be no different for any other player. Do you think Tiger made the right decision to play? What would you do?

 

Here is the latest link to the article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2013/04/13/tiger-woods-assessed-2-shot-penalty-from-masters/2079725/

The Return of Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest, most talented golfer of all time. When Tiger first came on the scene, he was the best. He kick started the beginning of the modern golf era that is today. Tiger Woods is an inspiration for people all around the world. Tiger has won 76 PGA tournaments, second to the most of all time by Sam Snead. Tiger has also 14 major wins in his career. There has also been disappointment in Tiger’s life as well. In 2008, a dispute between Tiger and his wife, Elin, broke out near their home. This problem would not be good for the golf star. The dispute broke out because of the discovery of multiple mistresses Tiger had been seeing over the past few years. The golf world was shocked. Not only golfers, but all people lost respect for Tiger. He had lost money with sponsorships dropping him and now he had also lost his life with family. Tiger had entered a slump after these occurrences, going winless from 2008 to the 20011-2012 season. In that season, Tiger got his first win since the scandal broke out. Things were starting to look up. This win came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill. This season, though, has been a major comeback for the previous world number one. Tiger started off his season at the Farmers Insurance Open. Tiger help the lead throughout the week and shot a staggering -14. He won that tournament and carried on into the WGC Match play where he finished 33^rd in the field. Tiger then went to the WGC Cadillac Championship where he won that tournament as well. Tiger Woods has gotten off to a great start this season and this week he is playing in the lead again at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he got his comeback win. If Tiger were to win today, he would jump back into the number one spot in the world golf rankings and he would also have his 3^rd win in 5 starts this year. What is your opinion of players who have fallen and risen back again? Do you have faith in Tiger Woods?  Do you like seeing Tiger playing well?

 

Here is a link to the article: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1579059-arnold-palmer-invitational-2013-what-a-victory-would-mean-for-tiger-woods

 

Vijay Singh Doping Scandal

Vijay Singh is a professional golfer who has been on top of the world. He is a 3 time major winner and formerly the world number one. Recently, Vijay has been in the news for some not so good reasons. Vijay came out and verbally admitted to the PGA that he had violated their banned substance agreement and that it led him to success in the middle of his professional career. Singh stated that he used the banned substance of deer antler spray which increases muscle growth and stimulates energy. Here is his statement: "While I have used deer-antler spray, at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA Tour Anti-Doping Policy, in fact, when I first received the product, I reviewed the list of ingredients and did not see any prohibited substances. I am absolutely shocked that deer-antler spray may contain a banned substance and am angry that I have put myself in this position. I have been in contact with the PGA Tour and am cooperating fully with their review of this matter. I will not be commenting further at this time."

What has most recently caused an uproar in the media is that Vijay was cleared to play in the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. Many Tour observers wonder how Singh, who has won 34 Tour events in a Hall of Fame career, could be competing this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after such a turn of events. This is definitely the first time the tour has had to deal with an event like this especially when the player come out and admits to it himself. They are going to have an in-depth investigation as to what Singh actually did take and at what time during his career he took these substances. The PGA will the punish Singh based upon what they think is deemed necessary. What do you think the laws should be for performance enhancing substances in professional sports? What do you think the punishments should be for Singh?

Here is a link to the latest update of the story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2013/02/10/golfweek-alex-miceli-vijay-singh/1906313/

Rory McIlroy is now Nike

Rory McIlroy is the world’s number one golfer. Previously, prior to about three weeks ago, Rory’s main sponsors were Titleist and Oakley. He was very happy at these companies until Nike came up to him and offered him a new deal. Nike is most famously known for sponsoring Tiger Woods, one of the greats of the game. Nike offered McIlroy a 250 million dollar sponsorship. Rory obviously took this 250 million dollar deal and is now signed on with Nike. "I've always associated Nike with the best," McIlroy said at the announcement. "Growing up, whether it was golf, tennis, football, the best athletes were with Nike. I've watched Tiger Woods make history with Nike, and Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. Now I want to create my own history with Nike. Nike is a company and a brand that really resonates with me. It's young. It's athletic. It's innovative. They are committed to being the best." This deal was signed to last 10 years and, as I said, is in the ball park of around 200 to 250 million dollars. Rory made his Nike debut at the Abu Dubai Open overseas and he didn’t play very well. He missed the cut and in the middle of one of his rounds, Rory switched back to his Titleist putter. After the round, Rory said that he didn’t like the weight of the putter and that it threw him off his game. Nike didn’t have any comments on this story. My take on this story is that if Rory remains to be unhappy with this new switch over to Nike then he should trade back and see if he can make a new deal with Titleist once more. I wish that professional sports weren’t all about the money. It should be about what the players feel comfortable with and what they feel makes them win the most tournaments. When the money starts to manipulate the players, they begin to lose focus and in turn, lose reputation. What do you think would be the ideal way for players to make money in sports? What do you think they should do about their equipment changes? Should they be frequent? What impact does pop culture have on sports? Leave your comments below.

 

Here is a link to the story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2013/01/14/rory-mcilroy-tiger-woods-nike-golf/1832579/

Anchored Putting Stroke Issue

Golf is a game of concentration, dedication, mental strength, physical strength, and skill. For over 500 years golf has been a global spot played by many. It is a sport that people of all ages can play and is very, very difficult. Like I said above, golf takes a lot of skill to ply. You measure angles, read breaks, determine distance, muscle memory, etc. There is not much you can do to make yourself better at golf besides practice. David Feherty, a retired professional golfer and current analyst for CBS sports, has a joke about golf. He says that he has been searching for years to find a drug that makes you play golf better and he has been unsuccessful. He says “Yeah, go ahead and take steroids you’ll just hit it farther into the trees. Good luck with that.” Recently in the past year the USGA has wanted to re-write a rule that some people believe, actually, has made the game of golf easier and taken a much needed skill out of the game, the putting stroke.

 

Recently, many companies have manufactured a putter that has come to be known as the belly putter. This belly putter has a longer grip that extends up into your gut which gives it the name. This is a difference from the traditional putter being the length of thirty-six inches. Many players on tour use this type of putter such as Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, and Ernie Els. The USGA (United States Golf Association) wants to change the way they are used. Originally, people thought that they wanted to ban the belly putter and “Broom-Handle” putters indefinitely. What this type of putter does is that it allows you to “anchor” it on the ground while you are putting so you get a more balanced even flow of the stroke. This makes it easier for players to get the touch of their stroke and make more putts. This past year, 5 major tournaments were won by a player who uses this stroke. The USGA is set to make the new rule to ban this stroke by the year 2016.

 

In my opinion, whatever is inspiring people to play the game and whatever keeps the game of golf relevant, is fine by me. The players can do whatever they want with their games to make them play to the best ability that they can legally. The golfers are happy and they are what drives the game. Some of the most famous golfers in the world such as Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, and Phil Mickelson are not the most important aspect of the game… it is the future generations to come. The kids coming in and playing these tournaments are the ones who will keep the game alive and as long as golf is a relevant sport, I am happy. What is your take on the situation?

 

Here is a link to the story: http://www.pga.com/golf-equipment/equipment-feature/anchoring-putters-be-banned-under-rule-proposed-usga-and-ra

 

 

 

 

My Take On The Mati Te'o Hoax

Manti Te'o is a star linebacker for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. He led the Irish to an undefeated season and a runner-up finish for the team in the BCS Title game in Miami, Florida this season. He also finished second in the Heisman Trophy race to Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M and finished with a record high in total votes for a defensive player. Most of these achievements came from the love of Americans and most of that love was won over for his tragic, heart-wrenching story. One morning in September, Manti received news that his grandmother had passed away in Hawaii due to old age. This story is very sad enough but nearly six hours after that he received a phone call right before his football practice. This call came from the brother of Manti’s girlfriend, Lennay Kekau. Manti answered the phine and the man was in tears Manti said, “Bro, get it together tell me what’s wrong.” And at that moment Manti knew. Lennay had lost her battle with Leukemia that morning and had passed. Manti had lost his grandmother and the love of his life in a span of eight hours.

 

With this sad tragedy came the love of all college football fans. Manti took the death of his close loved ones as motivation and became one of the best players in college football. He was a star. Notre Dame suffered a loss to Alabama in the national championship game. After this, a hole in Mantis story arose. Deadspin.com went into research and found that Lennay Kekau did not have any records of her obituary or any proof that she went to Stanford, the college Manti said she went to. Manti had either been part of a terrible hoax or is a great actor in one if the biggest cover ups in football history.

 

Manti Te'o is getting accused of knowing about this and being in on the hoax as a publicity stunt. In my opinion, I believe Manti is not in on this stunt because of his emotions. He could not do countless interview after countless interview in tears about his dead girlfriend. He is a very truthful person. He used this tragedy to propel his team to numerous victories. He was the spiritual drive of his team and is a wonderful leader. What do u think is the truth? If manti is lying, what do u think proves this?

Here is a link to the latest update on this story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/01/19/manti-teo-lennay-kukua-girlfriend-hoax/1847015/

 

My Story

My full given name is Nash Taylor Holm. I was born in Omaha, Nebraska on October 18, 1996. Some interesting facts about me are that I am a huge Notre Dame fan of all sports and have been my entire life. I am dedicated in 3 main sports: golf, skiing, and climbing. I train and play golf all year round, and the rest I go up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where I train for skiing and climbing. For skiing, I go up to Jackson Hole where my family owns a house to compete in races that consist of skiers my age from all over the world. In the summer, I go to climb mountains in Wyoming and Colorado. I am training currently for my hardest cling of the Grand Teton which is a 10,456 feet vertical rise face which I will complete when I am 18 years old. I hope to become a professional golfer when I am older and hopefully become of national recognition.